Powerful world leaders and the United Nations (UN) have called for immediate investigation into the downing of a Malaysian airlines over eastern Ukraine Thursday killing all 298 passengers and crew on board.

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the worsening situation in Ukraine, where separatists battling government forces have resulted in the death of hundreds of rebels and soldiers and are reported to be responsible for shooting down the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 Flight  MH17.

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Britain, one of the UN's five veto-wielding members, has called for a "full, thorough and independent international investigation" to assess what really caused the tragic incident that occurred while the passenger plane was flying over Grabovo town in Donetsk, a known rebel stronghold.

Britain also called on concerned parties to allow access of investigators to the crash site, which is under the control of rebels seeking independence from Ukraine.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has offered condolences to families of victims, mostly Dutch, and pushed for a "full and transparent international investigation."

The United States has called for a ceasefire from both sides to ensure the safety of the investigators and offered immediate assistance to the investigation.

As this developed, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said pro-Russian rebels have pledged to cooperate and said they would ensure safe access for international experts visiting the crash site.

Even Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused by the U.S. of igniting the tense situation and supporting the rebels, has called for a "thorough and unbiased" investigation.

Russian forces are among the groups being suspected in the incident after the Kiev released recordings it said were of Russian intelligence officers talking with rebels about the shooting down of what the separatists apparently thought to be a Ukrainian army aircraft.

Separatists have denied responsibility, saying the rebels have no capability to shoot down such airplanes flying on high altitude. This, despite their admission that they had taken control of a Buk weapons systems, a self-propelled medium-range missile designed for anti-aircrraft use.

The incident, which Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk described as a catastrophe, followed two other incidents of two Ukrainian military aircraft having been shot down earlier in the week. One Su-25 fighter was reportedly shot down by Russian combat aircraft on Wednesday, the first direct military intervention by Russia in the Ukraine's civil war.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has said Kuala Lumpur that Malaysia will not leave any stone unturned in the search for truth and justice for the 298 victims.

"If it transpires that the plane was indeed shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must swiftly be brought to justice," he said.

TagsUkraine, Malaysia Airlines, MH17, Russia